Girl killed by lover

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Aspirant nurse Pushpa Kumari’s boyfriend on Sunday confessed to stabbing her at Canary Hill in Hazaribagh last week, but police have not yet recovered her body.

Pushpa, a 21-year-old girl from Kutumsukari village in Ichak block, told her family on September 26 that she was going to Hazaribagh town to train as a nurse at a private hospital. When she did not return, her relatives lodged an FIR with Ichak police.

Police on Sunday picked up one Mukesh Ravidas (23) after villagers said she was always seen with the youth. On questioning, Mukesh confessed to murdering her in Canary Hill with a knife, dumping the body and the weapon on the foothills and escaping.

Mukesh, who also admitted to having an affair with the girl for the past three years, however, did not divulge the motive.

Police immediately launched a search for the girl’s body. After four hours, when rain started, they were forced to abandon the search. Officer in charge of sadar police station Dinesh Singh confirmed they had not recovered the body yet.

Ichak police station officer-in-charge Ravi Shankar Singh said that while it was true that Pushpa and Mukesh were having an affair, whether the youth murdered his girlfriend or was lying about it could only be ascertained after the body was recovered.

“We hope to recover the body soon. But Canary Hill is home to a large number of hyenas and other wild animals, which may make the recovery of the body difficult,” he said.

In 2006, the dismembered hand of a schoolboy was found on this hill. Though the picturesque Canary Hill is popular with tourists, also from Bengal, reports of eve teasing crop up regularly.